


"i can express no kinder sign of love, than this kind kiss"

by kimjaehwan



Series: "love looks not with the eyes but with the mind, and therefore is winged cupid painted blind" [2]
Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Fluff, High School AU, M/M, PanWink - Freeform, in the same universe as my other fic but you don't have to read that to understand this one, jihoon is Whipped, jinseob and deephwi if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 06:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12600020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimjaehwan/pseuds/kimjaehwan
Summary: Jihoon pulled down his scarf to reveal his big cheeky grin, his nose turned a slight chilly red from the cold, “I love spending every minute with you.”Guanlin was silent for a moment, analyzing Jihoon's face before breaking into an adorable smile, “I love spending every minute with you too.”the au in how jihoon fell in love with guanlin





	"i can express no kinder sign of love, than this kind kiss"

**Author's Note:**

> to the readers who haven't read "some consequence yet hanging in the stars":  
> hello! i'm a minhwan angst author that's writing panwink fluff?? i just really like panwink and i don't know why but i just got the sudden urge to write panwink? yes, this is in the same universe as my minhwan fic but i promise you didn't have to read that one to read this very oneshot. i hope you enjoy this fic!
> 
> to my readers that have read "some consequence yet hanging in the stars":  
> ahh welcome back! this one shot took longer than expected (over 6k words lmao). i'm sorry i've gone missing for a while, and i know i promised that minhyun chapter (which is coming real soon). i just got really impatient and decided to post this as soon as it was finished. you could see that i posted a scene from the other fic to here just for time's purpose (ahah i'm sorRy). also, the previous panwink scene (that's currently deleted) is, uh, not canon anymore because it interfered with this plot. i hope you enjoy this fic, even if it isn't my usual angsty minhwan!

Park Jihoon met Lai Guanlin when the younger was a freshmen, wide-eyed with wonder at the gigantic monstrosity that was their tiny school.

It was the first day back, and the whole school looked like a scene from _The Walking Dead_ : dead ass zombies trying to survive off of brains and freakishly long math equations. It was until Jinyoung had pulled him aside as he was treading to his physics class, where he finally saw humans that actually looked, well, _human_. What he saw were two bright freshmen— Lee Daehwi and Lai Guanlin —that greeted him with, to be honest, _frightening_ eager and interest. Seriously, it took Jihoon a while to get used to the blinding optimism the maknaes brought with them; their personalities were like the sun on crack.

But Jihoon could see why Jinyoung was attracted to these particular freshmen. They had that sense of innocence in them: fresh eyed like lil adorable puppies and pure as a baby’s bum. Also, Jihoon thinks Jinyoung chose freshmen that had the same size as his smol ass face.

_Smol faced people were attracted to other smol faced people, I guess._

As for Jihoon, he didn't really mind the new company. It was actually pretty nice having tiny little angels follow them around all day, banishing all evil that came from Jinyoung’s gloomy hole of darkness and Woojin’s high pitched demon screams.

So their little band of odd ducklings came about— Jihoon, Jinyoung, Woojin, and their brand new additions Daehwi and Guanlin —fitting together quite well, just like how food fit quite well in Jihoon’s mouth. Everyday was a crazy adventure with happy highs and lowly lows; if it ever ended on a sad note, it was okay, as long as they had each other to metaphorically hold each other's hairs when one of them needed to metaphorically throw up in the toilet.

The five of them became close like Jay Z to Beyoncé, Kanye to Kim Kardashian, Brad Pitt to Angelina— oh wait, he couldn't use that one.

One thing Jihoon didn't expect, though, was that he would fall in love ( _hard_ ) with one of his closest friends.

\---

Jihoon loved dancing. The school had their own dance practice room, complete with grand mirrors and that echo of music that constantly bounced off the walls. Jihoon loved it; it was like an extension of himself, something that just happened to be apart of him.

So when Jihoon felt a horrifying _crack_ in his ankle as he was practicing alone, his tiny heart shattered along with his ankle.

“ _Holy shit_ ,” Jihoon gasped as he crumpled onto the ground in pain, “ _No, please, no_.”

He felt like he was going to die, and he didn't give a crap if he was being dramatic because _fuck_ , it almost hurt more than the time Woojin bit his arm with that sharp snaggletooth of his.

Almost.

Jihoon hissed as a wave of pain took over him. He felt a sting of tears crowd around his eyes, threatening to spill at the smallest flinch.

“Hyung!” A cheery voice echoed against the walls, “Jinyoung hyung told me I could find you here—“ The voice faltered.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Guanlin’s eyes widened at Jihoon’s hunched figure, “Hyung, are you alright?”

“I’m just dandy,” Jihoon almost was ready to bite Guanlin’s head off, “I’m in pain, you _stupid fuck_.”

Jihoon felt bad for calling the poor boy a stupid fuck, he blamed his ankle for making him say stupid things.

“I’m sorry,” Guanlin breathed, still shocked at the sight of Jihoon’s ankle, “Okay, I’m getting the nurse.”

Jihoon nodded as best as he could, it turned out to be more of a pained ugly double chin, but Guanlin still got the message as he dashed out of the room with blazing speed.

The next few moments were a blur —a frightened woman, people with gauzes and needles, white walls, a nasty medicinal smell— and the next thing Jihoon knew, he was lying in a hospital bed with a huge cast on his foot.

In the midst of it all, however, Jihoon has this voice in his head that panics. ‘ _Dance competition,_ ’ it muttered, ‘ _Dance competition, dance competition_.’

He's pretty sure the tears that were about to spill were now already at the end of his chin, raining down his cheeks.

“Hyung,” A sudden voice waked Jihoon from his daze, “Are you okay?”

“Sorry,” Jihoon squeaked, his hands desperately tap at his eyes, “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Guanlin furrowed his eyebrows, now sitting next to him on the creaky hospital bed, “You shouldn't be sorry for anything.”

“Just... everything,” Jihoon sighed, his back unconsciously sighed into Guanlin’s caring arms, “For calling you a stupid fuck, breaking my ankle, being the idiot that wasn't careful.”

“Hyung,” Guanlin rested his head on top of Jihoon’s. It was oddly intimate yet oddly satisfying. “Please don't be sad.” The younger smiled hesitantly and lifted his shaky hands to wipe his tears, “What's the matter?”

Jihoon didn't mean to, but he was breaking into hideous sobs. Guanlin probably thought he looked like a crying shrub or something. “Wh-what if-f,” Jihoon clung unto Guanlin’s shirt, “What if I d-don't get to danc-ce again?”

“What do I do? I-I” Jihoon let out a loud crying moan, “even have a d-dance competition in-n a few-w weeks.”

Guanlin chuckled, to which Jihoon glared at. Guanlin chuckled even more, “I’m sorry, your crying face is just too cute.”

Jihoon momentarily forgot about the competition as a hint of pink blossomed onto his cheek. “I've got good news,” Guanlin smirked as he held onto the shivering older, “the doctor said the sprain isn't that bad, you'll be able to dance in about a few weeks.”

 _Oh_. Jihoon blinked. The blush grew harsher as he remembered all the dramatic wails of pain and emotional sobs. _Really_?

Guanlin bursted into laughter as Jihoon mustered the best death stare he could do. He clearly failed, as Guanlin laughed harder as he glanced at the older.

“Don't worry,” Guanlin smiled, _did he always have that cute gummy grin_? “I’ll help you until you're all better.”

“Don't waste your time on me,” Jihoon muttered, still as embarrassed as ever, “I’m just a dramatic dude with a slightly sprained leg.”

“You're worth it.” There it was, that awfully adorable smile. _Why hadn't Jihoon noticed how adorable it was before_?

“You're worth all the time in the world,” Guanlin winked and Jihoon was a heavy beet red.

 

( _In record time, Jihoon’s ankle got better and he was dancing at his best once again. Too bad, maybe it wasn't so bad having Lai Guanlin take care of you._ )

\---

After that day, Jihoon started feeling symptoms. He kept shying away from one particular Guanlin, and his cheeks always felt like they ate hot cheetos every time he was near the younger.

Jihoon was too dumb to diagnose himself with whatever illness he had, but he knew he was coming down with _something_. It wasn't normal to feel like a shriveling piece of decaying fruit whenever he was near a particular person.

“Fuck,” Jihoon howled, slamming his books onto the lunch table, “I think I’m sick.”

Woojin and Jinyoung, the two little shits, grinned at each other, kind of like the Cheshire Cat on steroids. Woojin smirked, “Why?”

Instead of anwering Woojin, Jihoon scowled further, “What the heck is so funny?”

“Well,” Jinyoung laughed loudly, which looked odd because his stretched lips took up 50% of his face, “You're probably feeling rapid heart beats? Redness in the cheeks? A hot fever even though the thermometer says you don't have one?”

Jihoon’s mouth gaped, Woojin had the decency to close it before a fly went in, “How'd you know?”

“Jihoon,” Jinyoung snickered as he slapped the table with laughter, “You're in _love_.”

“Don't play with me,” Jihoon warned, his fingers were about to grip the neck of one Jinyoung.

“We’re not,” Woojin shrugged as he popped a fry in his mouth, “You're so god damn _obvious_. I’m surprised Guanlin doesn't even know yet.”

“ _Shut up_ ,” Jihoon hissed, smacking a fry out of Woojin’s hands in annoyance, “How would you even know what it's like to be in love?”

Jinyoung coughed a strangled mix of words that suspiciously sounded like ‘ _Ahn Hyungseob’_ to which Woojin glared,

“Bitch, I have Lee Daehwi on fucking speed dial.”

“ _You wouldn't_.” Jinyoung’s smirk finally dropped to Jihoon’s joy, with an incoming narrow of the eyes to replace it.

“Oh,” Woojin fished out his phone, free hand’s fingers hovering over Daehwi’s number, “ _I would_.”

Jinyoung dived for the phone as Woojin merely ducked, initiating a goose chase between the two losers. It literally looked like a smol dot chasing a sparrow, rolling on the dirty cafeteria floor vigorously.

A kid looked onto the two boys and then at Jihoon, to which Jihoon mouthed, “I don't know them.”

Slowly but surely scooting away from the supposed “strangers,” more necessary thoughts flooded into Jihoon’s head: _Did he really like Guanlin?_

From afar, Jihoon could hear Woojin cry, “you cracked my phone!” But Jihoon paid no attention. He had more serious problems than dumb and dumber’s low IQs.

_Did Jihoon really like Guanlin?_

Jihoon was only left confused and anxious, thumbing at his fingers and biting his nails.

\---

“ _What do you mean you can't go_?” Jihoon seethed into the phone. If looks could kill, Jihoon’s phone would already be in little smithereens.

Woojin’s awkward guilty laugh filled his ears and all Jihoon wanted was to reach through the phone connection and strangle the sparrow.

“I promised Hyungseob we would grab some coffee together.”

“Invite Hyungseob too, then!”

“U-Uh,” Woojin stuttered, “I’m actually going to ask _the question_ today.”

 _Well_ , Jihoon sighed, _he couldn't get mad at that._

“I’m letting you off the hook this time,” Jihoon mentally transported laser beams to wherever Woojin was, “But I better see you and Hyungseob arm in arm the next time I see you.”

“You will,” Jihoon could practically hear Woojin’s smile, “... _maybe_.”

_“Fuck, Park Woojin—“_

The phone call ended with a pathetic _ping_.

 _Well_. Jihoon tried to think as optimistic as possible, _at_ _least Jinyoung and Daehwi are coming_.

Another pathetic _ping_. This time, it's a text message:

 _sowwy! daehwi and i are going 2gether somewhere else today! we love you jihoon (not really)_ ♡  
**— smol ass head**

Jihoon was going to murder all three of them in some cult ritual to the demonic gods (maybe not Daehwi, that kid was an angel). He wouldn't have been so mad if they were cancelling _on the spot_. Friday meetings™ were something they always did every week; they couldn't just cancel, did their weekly meetings mean _nothing_ to these ungodly barbarians?

But what was even more maddening was that now only one person was coming, and that person was _Guanlin_.

_How the fuck was Jihoon supposed to survive being all by himself with Guanlin?_

Maybe Jihoon could cancel too. Maybe if he could just reach for his phone and text Guanlin that he was “sick with the flu,” maybe he could—

“Hyung!”

 _Too late_.

Mustering the best smile he could, Jihoon turned to acknowledge the other but then accidentally choked at the sight.

It wasn't as if Guanlin was dressed in a suit and tie holding a bunch of roses— the younger was in a simple sweatshirt with his hair gelled up in a fashionable style. His big eyes flew into a grin as his modelesque figure ran towards him. The boy just looked so handsome and _boyfriend_ that Jihoon just had to cough on some drool that almost left his mouth.

“Guanlin,” Jihoon attempted at a smile, “You're here.”

The said boy gave him a wide smile, “I am,” Guanlin glanced at Jihoon’s too huge pink sweater and laughed, “You look cute today.”

Jihoon widened his eyes and felt his fists clamp as if it was going to stop his heart from running like a wild man. He just stood there gaping like an idiot, calming the wildfire in his blood.

At the silence coming from Jihoon, Guanlin chuckled, “So,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “What are we doing this Friday?”

“Uh-“ Jihoon wanted to smack sense into himself, “The others aren't coming so I guess it's just us.”

Guanlin hummed contentedly, “If it’s just us, I want to choose what we do today.” He smirked, as if he had come up with some ingenious plan.

“What is it?” Jihoon asked, trying to calm his damn body when Guanlin spared him the slightest glance.

“Teach me how to dance.” Guanlin's eyes twinkled, “I saw you, hyung. You're incredible.”

_The younger was seriously going to kill Jihoon from a heart attack._

“I want to learn from the best, after all.” Guanlin grinned.

“I’m not that good,” Jihoon looked down, a hand rubbing the nape of his neck.

“ _Not that good_?” Guanlin said incredulously. Jihoon felt alarms ring in his chest. “Do it now,” Guanlin demanded. The boy’s precious foot stomped on the ground.

“Dance?” Jihoon almost choked (again), “ _now_?”

Guanlin nodded furiously and Jihoon glanced around. There weren't a lot of people where there were today.

“I’m waiting,” Guanlin sung, hands rubbing in anticipation.

Giggling, Jihoon reluctantly agreed as his body swung to an invisible beat.

Even with no music, Guanlin cheered as Jihoon danced. With every flick of the wrist and kick of the leg, Jihoon only stared at Guanlin, who was his loudest cheerleader throughout the whole dance. Swinging his body, his dance grew more wild and loud as sparks of appreciation and proudness appeared in Guanlin’s eyes. It was as if a warm blanket was thrown all over Jihoon’s little heart.

He danced for what seemed like hours, more confidently with time until he was tired from exhaustion. Jihoon dropped to the floor in sweat, heavy breaths creating puffs of smoke in the cold air.

‘ _WHOOO_!’ Multiple voices chanted. Jihoon whipped his head up and only then realized that a crowd around them had formed, watching Jihoon dance.

“The crowd seems to disagree,” Guanlin shouted within the whistles and the cheers, “You're not just good, you're _amazing_.” The younger grinned, waving a hand at the crowd,

“Please don't ever say you're not good because heck, everyone knows you're the best in the world.”

\---

Guanlin _really_ liked chicken. Jihoon once asked Guanlin if he liked chicken or Jihoon better, and Guanlin had answered chicken. Jihoon tried really hard not to be offended, but quickly felt better as the younger gave him his adorable gummy smile, ruffling Jihoon’s head and clarifying that it was a joke.

Jihoon, being the best hyung he was, found Guanlin a job at a chicken store, to which Guanlin gladly accepted, especially after finding out that they gave free chicken to their employees.

_(“You're the best, hyung,” Guanlin had exclaimed, excitedly clapping his hands together like a riled up child, “I can't thank you enough.”)_

Everything was fine and dandy, of course, until Jihoon’s symptoms started acting up again.

A new symptom had occurred: Jihoon started finding himself in the chicken store everyday, spending his hours chatting with Guanlin at the register, instead of studying or doing whatever kids did these days.

“Hyung,” Guanlin pouted, eyebrows scrunched together in such an adorable manner, “Don't you have other things to do?”

“Do you not want me here?” Jihoon waited with bated breath for the answer.

“Of course I want you here!” Guanlin’s eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around the older. Jihoon turned pink at the touch and he almost went crazy as he felt the warmth of the younger’s arms.

“Y-you do?” Jihoon stuttered as if his tongue was frozen with Elsa’s magical iceballs.

“Without any doubt,” Guanlin’s dimples started to show, and Jihoon swore he saw little cupids swirl around him, taunting him with their flapping wings and heart arrows, “I love having you here.”

And so Jihoon continued to stay day after day, listening to Guanlin talk about how he was feeling, his family, his love for chicken, etcetera.

Jihoon would jump onto the counter and stare at the younger’s tall and slender figure greet customers with a charming grin. Between customers, Guanlin would give that same charming smile to him, and Jihoon would bite his tongue in hopes of not spouting romantic garbage like, _‘Hey, I actually like you more than a friend and I want to reach out to give you a warm cuddle and a sloppy kiss but—‘_

Luckily, Guanlin was a talker and spilled the gaps of silence Jihoon would unintentionally create.

He learned many things over the next few days: Guanlin had a beautiful sister, who was always nice to her brother and liked to shower Guanlin with kisses and gifts; He also liked to play basketball, and he once made a goal from all the way across the court; Guanlin also played the piano skillfully, to which Jihoon made the younger promise to play for him one day.

However, what Jihoon learned most importantly was that, indeed, Park Jihoon was so whipped for Lai Guanlin.

_(The next day he got his monthly report card, to which could even make the dumbest idiot cringe. He moped around and gained the courage to go to his brother, “I’m failing some classes.”_

_In the end, Jihoon got a tutor and Jihoon was only allowed to go to Guanlin’s workplace only a few times a week; however, Jihoon always made sure that Guanlin would be the first person he would be with during any possible free time.)_

\---

When the first signs of autumn came, Guanlin invited him to see the trees in his backyard.

Jihoon remembered his surprise after they had one particular conversation:

_“With Woojin?”_

“ _Nope_.”

“ _With Jinyoung_?”

“ _No_.”

_“With Daehwi?”_

_“Just us, hyung. Just us.”_

‘ _Just us, hyung_ ’— Jihoon almost fainted that day, but he made sure not to because then he would’ve looked like an bumbling idiot in front of Guanlin. Also, he was pretty confident Woojin wouldn't have caught him and Daehwi and Jinyoung were too busy flirting with each other in the corner of the room.

So Jihoon stood in front of Guanlin’s house, in a thick light brown scarf that covered most of his face (you know, to hide his blushing) and an oversized maroon jacket, holding a bouquet of chicken.

“Hyung!” Guanlin jumped in giggles as soon as he saw Jihoon, “You're here!”

 _Thank god for the scarf_ , Jihoon thought as the scarf hid his warm cheeks.

Guanlin gave him a once over, a smile forming, “You look cute today.”

 _Thank you God, thank you Buddha, thank you any god, any where for this darn scarf_. Jihoon’s face probably matched the color of the red leaves floating gracefully behind him.

The younger gasped at the sight of the bouquet of chicken, “This is so _beautiful_.” Guanlin jumped at him for a hug, “Thank you for coming today.”

Jihoon mumbled into the bony shoulder of Guanlin, “Of course, I’ll always be wherever you want me to be.”

“What did you say hyung?”

Jihoon could only laugh awkwardly behind the giant scarf of his, “Thank you for inviting me.”

Was that a spark of dissapointment in Guanlin’s eye?

 _Probably not_ , Jihoon concluded, _I don't want to raise my hopes up_.

Guanlin’s light fingers danced towards Jihoon’s own. With a gentle tug and a melodic laugh, Guanlin spoke with little happy fairies in his eyes, “I have something to show you.”

Jihoon moved like a marionette; easily controlled by the small glances thrown his way and the caress of the fingers that pulled on his heartstrings. The leaves swirled around them like those random flower petals in those anime movies, the sun dimmed to beautiful strokes of color on the canvas sky.

It seemed absolutely ethereal.

“Hyung,” Guanlin’s face turned to him, and it seemed to fit in well with the gorgeous scenery, “come look at this.”

Pointing to what looked like a vomit of pastel ruffles, Guanlin giggled as they drew closer to the holy object. Coming closer, Jihoon realised they were flowers, beautiful as they were colorful, petals blowing against the wind.

“They're wilting,” A momentary frown appeared on Guanlin's face. Jihoon had the urge to pinch the ends of his delicate mouth and push into a smile. Guanlin gingerly soothed a crinkle in a begonia, to which Jihoon only just realised was a crinkle of deathly brown that was slowly creeping up the sides of the flower, “I wanted you to see them before the winter.”

“Is that lame?” Guanlin let go a shaky and hesitant breath, “Should I not have brought you here?”

Jihoon’s arm shouldered the younger, wind bounced off of the shield of Jihoon’s maroon jacket. His free arm reached out for a begonia, tracing the plush pink outlines of the flower, “I love it.”

Jihoon pulled down his scarf to reveal his big cheeky grin, his nose turned a slight chilly red from the cold, “I love spending every minute with you.”

Guanlin was silent for a moment, analyzing Jihoon's face before breaking into an adorable smile, “I love spending every minute with you too.”

\---

The stage looked terrifying.

Perhaps it was the loud scream of the crowds haunting him through the thin walls of the rehearsal room, or maybe the creeping fear of failure crashing in and out his brain.

Whatever is was, Jihoon wanted it to go the fuck away.

Gulping giant balls of water, Jihoon anxiously practiced the steps that he had been rehearsing over and over for the past months.

“Relax,” Jinyoung rolled his eyes, giving an ironic reassuring smile with an extra pat on the back, “We’re going to win this.”

“Please,” Jihoon scoffed, epically failing as his throat croaked in anxiety, “We’re going to crush it.”

Jinyoung snickered, snickering even louder at Jihoon’s glare, “You sound like my grandma when she's drunk.”

“ _Fuck off_ ,” Jihoon swatted at the obnoxious boy, “Before I cut out your—“

“Hyungs!” A familiar tune exclaimed behind him.

Eyes wide, Jihoon’s cheeks turned automatic pink as he cleared his throat to face two excited balls of energy hurling towards him.

“G-Guanlin?” Jihoon sputtered.

Jinyoung almost lost his jaw, “Daehwi?”

Guanlin flashed him that sweet smile of his, and Jihoon felt his heart beat faster than it already was, “I wanted to see you guys before your performance.”

“We came to cheer you guys on!” Daehwi gave an adorable blow of a kiss and Jihoon could almost hear Jinyoung’s breath hitch.

“Woojin went to talk to Hyungseob instead,” Guanlin let out a high pitched giggle, “But he says he knows you guys will do well.”

In the background, Jihoon could hear the heavy boom of a mic: “ _Next up_... **National Producers**!”

“Shit, we’re up right after them.” Jihoon hissed, his stomach twisted in fear and his palms felt like a sweaty mess.

“You guys should go,” Guanlin winked. Then he bent down towards Jihoon’s ear, breath tickling Jihoon’s neck and tall fingers on his shoulder; Jihoon felt his face blow up like a red balloon. He whispered in a low tone, “I believe in you, Jihoon hyung. You're going to blow them out of the water.”

And with that, Guanlin and Daehwi were gone in a flash. Jinyoung raised an eyebrow at Jihoon, “What did he say to make you blush so hard?”

“Nothing,” Jihoon muttered, the tossing tides in his stomach a lot more quiet now, “Let's go.”

Jinyoung didn't question him any further, and the both of them left their rehearsal room for the stage.

\---

Jihoon gripped Hyungseob and Jinyoung’s hands as they waited for BoA to scream their team name into the loud speaker, Euiwoong anxiously held Hyungseob’s other hand as they bounced in nervous rythym.

“ _Next up_... **Slate**!” and off they went, to perform a stage that they had been meticulously practicing for what seemed like countless rehearsals.

The four of them climbed up the rickety steps and into the overlooking lights of the stage. BoA looked at them with expectancy. Jinyoung brought the mic to his lips to provide the audience with a mandatory explanation of their performance.

As Jinyoung spoke, Jihoon’s eyes wildly searched the audience. It didn't take long to find his ~~embarrassing~~ supportive brother, Jaehwan, chaotically waving a poster with Jihoon’s face on it; Jihoon made a mental note to block him out, or else Jihoon would've thrown his shoe at Jaehwan's face by now.

Searching further, it took a few seconds more to find the person he was looking for.

Standing before the front of the stage, with the shadow of the spotlight shining down on him, was Guanlin, infamous gummy smile, crescent shaped eyes and all, clapping for Jihoon with encouragement.

‘ _You can do it_ ’ Guanlin mouthed to him. A wave of confidence arose in Jihoon just as Jinyoung put down the mic and the music started playing:

_What do I do, the spell isn’t releasing_  
_How, how did this happen_  
_My heart that is hotter than that sun_  
_Maybe, maybe, it’s probably love_

Jihoon couldn't see Guanlin through the blur of dancing, but he's sure that the younger was smiling beautifully in the audience below him.

 _You take my high_  
_Fly me up so high_  
_Like a balloon, I float up_  
_My heart, you shake it up very much_  
_I’ll embrace your happiness and sadness and everything_  
_And only know of you_

Jihoon sends the audience a little heart, he hoped Guanlin got it.

 _I feel an emotion that is deeper than love_  
_Right now, I’m weaker than anyone else but also strong_  
_Sure, I’ll change things like fate_  
_Baby baby when you tell me something bad_  
_Whatever sort of tears you drop, I’ll wipe them for you_  
_Break up with things like break ups now_  
_Shout loudly_

The four of them fly into formation, not showing a wink of exhaustion; Jihoon danced at full caliber.

 _Oh little girl, with any sort of words_  
_Little girl, it can’t decorate you_  
_You, who is more like love than love itself_  
_Oh little girl, In this world_  
_Little girl, even if I were to lose everything_  
_You, who is more like fate than fate itself_  
_I’ll protect you_  
_I’ll protect you_  
_I’ll protect you_

The song finished with a bang. Literally, the confetti machine shot up with a bang (Jihoon almost burst into the laughter when Hyungseob flinched from the loud noise).

Euiwoong made the crowd go crazy with a cute smile, Jinyoung did that weird model pose he liked to do in the mirror (Daehwi clearly looked like he was enjoying it), and Hyungseob threw the audience a red rose. Spoiler alert: Woojin caught it, but not before fighting with Justin, scaring the poor boy off with his demon screams.

But Jihoon? Jihoon was only staring at one person in the middle of all the other irrelevant people.

“ _You did amazing_ ” Guanlin shouted, his smile was worth more than the most precious gold you could find.

To Jihoon, that was a better prize than any other trophy in the world.

\---

The grey wind howled as light snowflakes frantically scattered about. Jaehwan and Jihoon’s apartment glowed against the gloomy outside with (way too many) Christmas decorations and heaters turned on in every corner.

Jihoon was waiting for the whole crew, as it was a no school day and no school meant everyone coming over to Jihoon's house for an epic manly play date. Plus, the high schoolers were up to their usual shenanigans —today's just turned out to be a whole intricate plan in making Jihoon's brother and Jihoon's tutor hook up— long story, really.

As Jihoon stared into the large mirror in his room, he straightened his oversized, angel white hoodie and fitted blue jeans. _Would Guanlin like what he was wearing_?

The tiny thought of Guanlin noticing his outfit, commenting with that cute dimple smile, ‘ _You look cute today_ ’ put Jihoon into a messy frenzy.

He glanced away from his reflection, _Who would've thought Jihoon was the hyung in this situation_?

“Why are you so red?” Jaehwan cackled. His brother was staring at him from his bedroom door.

“I’m not red!” Jihoon protested as he pressed his hands against his cheeks and shot a look at his reflection in the mirror. Indeed, his face was colored with romantic red.

“I’m guessing Guanlin is coming?” Jaehwan completely ignored Jihoon’s protests and now was in his own weird world of enthusiasm, “ _I love that kid_! Why is he coming?”

“Uh,” Jihoon hesitated, he had think fast or else their whole scheme would be caught, “Everyone's coming over to study?”

Jihoon wasn't sure if he convinced his brother or not, but Jaehwan simply nodded, “Should I bake some cookies for you guys?”

“No!” Jihoon might've said too quickly. He shivered; the last time Jaehwan baked, the apartment almost got caught on fire.

Jaehwan scowled in fake offense, “My cookies won't kill you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hey—“ Suddenly (and thankfully), Jaehwan's words were cut off by the sound of the doorbell.

Jihoon grinned victoriously and Jaehwan grumbled as they both made their way to the door of their shared apartment.

Rolling his eyes at his brother, Jihoon opened the door, only to reveal a tall boy wearing a white winter jacket, smiling the most wonderful smile, and holding a bouquet of pink tulips.

“ _Guanlin_?” Jihoon tried to calm the radiating pounces on his chest, “You’re an hour early?”

“Are you disappointed?” Guanlin cocked at eyebrow. He frowned and with one move of the lips, Jihoon's heart fell.

Wide eyed, Jihoon shook his head crazily, “Of course I want you here!”

Guanlin’s hard face melted and he was now in a fit of laughter, “Your face—“

A small smile spread on Jihoon's face, “Shut up”

Guanlin still kept laughing though, and it took him a while for him to stop. He did eventually, and he pushed the flowers towards Jihoon, “For your house.”

“This is so beautiful” _just like you_.

“They're from the garden I showed you before,” Guanlin has a faint sheepish blush, and Jihoon thought it was the cutest thing in the world, “I picked them before they could wilt.”

“Thank you,” Jihoon smiled, “This will look beautiful in our home.”

The two became quiet and then silence engulfed them, a strange staring match occurred. Jihoon nearly melted in Guanlin's stare, until the younger broke the quiet.

“Uh,” Guanlin nervously laughed, “Can I come in?”

“Oh,” Jihoon blinked, not comprehending what was happening until moments after, “Please, come in.”

“The others are coming,” Jihoon explained as the younger stepped into the apartment, “You came before the others did.”

“Perfect.” Guanlin winked, and he took off his jacket to reveal a warm pink sweater, which was coincidentally Jihoon's favorite color.

“By the way,” Guanlin looked to Jihoon, who took Guanlin’s jacket in his hand ~~creepily smelling the fresh lemon scent coming from it~~. “You look cute today,” the younger paused, “Well, you look cute everyday.”

“U-uh-hu-h” Jihoon blubbered like a fish. _God damn it, that comment got him every time_.

Jaehwan, who had been watching quietly not a few inches away, murmured into Jihoon’s ear, “You're even more red than before.”

“ _Fuck you hyung_.”

His brother merely walked away with his damn creepy cackle.

\---

“Kids!” A familiar voice cackled a few feet from Jihoon’s door, in the hall.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Jinyoung hissed, “ _Everybody pretend to study_.” The five teenagers hustled for their backpacks, rapidly taking out their school materials.

When Jaehwan’s head popped in, all the boys were frantically pretending to write something in whatever book they managed to grab.

“Kids,” Jaehwan sighed, “When you said you'd be here to study, I knew you guys weren't going to actually study.” He pointedly looked at the book Guanlin was holding, “It literally says ‘Lee Daehwi’ on the cover.” Daehwi let out a smol, panicked yelp as he snatched his book from Guanlin’s hands.

Jihoon cleared his throat, trying to shake off his embarrassment, “T-then why are you here hyung?”

“Ah,” Jaehwan let himself fully into Jihoon’s room, “If you kids are going home, you guys should go now.”

“There's a snow storm coming our way and you might not be able to go home.” Jaehwan looked out the window, which was currently glazed over with intricate patterns of frost and light snowflakes, “Looks like the roads will be blocked in a few hours.”

After a chorus of okays and a “ _alright, now get the fuck out hyung_ ,” Jaehwan left in a huff.

“Sleepover?” Jihoon lazily asked as Jaehwan closed the door.

“Sure,” Woojin shrugged and another round of okays flooded the room.

It was only about five minutes after when Jihoon realized, _I’m going to be in a room with Lai Guanlin for the whole entire night_.

“Holy shit.”

“What is it?” Daehwi asked with concern.

“Holy _shit_.”

\---

As the rest of the boys were knocked out asleep, Jihoon was awake watching the hurricane of snowflakes blow past his window in a hypnotic state.

 _How could he with the person he had a big fat gay crush on just a few feet away_?

Plus, Daehwi grinded his teeth in his sleep— the younger slept like a tiny cute baby: all wrapped up in blankets with the cutest sleepy smile, but the constant teeth grinding had Jihoon concerned over Daehwi’s poor teeth.

Besides Daehwi slept Jinyoung, who even in his sleep was in protective mode, arms around the little Daehwi. It was as if they were doing a competition for which head was the smallest: their smol heads kept getting even more smol as it hid under the nuzzle of the other.

Jihoon snickered, taking out his phone to capture the adorable scene. Jinyoung was so going to murder him.

 _It was worth it_ , Jihoon thinks as he's already onto his next target: Park Woojin.

Woojin was sprawled all over his blankets, heavily breathing as a bit of snaggletooth peaked through his wide open mouth. Jihoon was pretty sure he could see Woojin’s tonsils from where he was.

 _Was that a hint of drool rolling down his cheek_? It took Jihoon the will of all the woodlen spirits to cough down a laugh as he snapped a photo of his best friend in this vulnerable state. Revenge, really, for all those times he had to deal with Woojin screaming about Hyungseob for hours and hours.

After a couple of shots for a wonderful, completely one-sided photoshoot, Jihoon moved on to the next person. Through the screen of his phone, he could see the shadowy outline of Guanlin.

This time, however, Jihoon’s breath hitched because _god damn how could a person be so beautiful_?

Guanlin's hair was a crazy bed head, his unwashed face cringed from Jihoon's phone, and his mouth gaped even wider than Woojin's (which deserved an applaud because Woojin had a mouth that was the size of and functioned like a dolphin’s.)

Yet Jihoon found himself entranced, hopelessly staring at Guanlin's long pretty lashes and pale skin. His finger was no longer hovering the camera button, his whole body was just focused on admiring the person in front of him. _How could a person be so perfect_?

Guanlin's eyes suddenly fluttered apart and his soft lips spoke groggily, “What are you doing?”

“Uh—“ Jihoon’s face bloomed into a blood red and he knew it wasn't his symptoms; this was just plain embarrassment. “I, um,” Jihoon stuttered, looking for an excuse that wasn't lamer than, ‘ _Hey I was staring at your face because I think it's the prettiest face in the universe_ —‘

“I was taking pictures of everyone?” Which was technically true, Jihoon did have a whole blackmail worth of photos sitting in his phone now.

Guanlin let out a raspy chortle, “What the fuck?”

“I didn't take any of you,” Jihoon blurted, “I was about to but you, uh, woke up before I could.”

“Really?” Guanlin rubbed his eyes, stifling a giggle, “Can I see them?”

“S-sure!” Jihoon handed Guanlin his phone. The younger got up from his blankets and scooted closer to Jihoon so that they were practically sticking to each other.

 _Oh my god Lai Guanlin is next to me Oh my god Lai Guanlin is next to me Oh my god Lai Guanlin is next to me Oh my god Lai Guanlin is next to me_ —

“Oh my god,” Guanlin snorted as he swished past Woojin’s photos, “these are _gold_.”

“You want to see Jinyoung’s?” Jihoon laughed as silently as he could, “I have a bunch more.”

Scrolling for the ‘Jinyoung Blackmail Photos’ folder in his phone, Jihoon giggled as a picture of Jinyoung covered with shaving cream appeared.

“This is from a prank I did on him once,” It took all of Jihoon's fibers not to laugh, “He had to walk around like that all day because the showers didn't work and I made sure no one lent him new clothes.”

Swiping to the next photo, Jihoon cooed, “This one has you in it too! Remember that prank we did when we put all of Jinyoung’s school supplies in lemon flavored jello?”

Jihoon looked excitedly at the younger, only to find Guanlin completely ignoring the pictures, staring at him intently. Guanlin’s gaze pierced at him fiercely, and Jihoon gulped, “D-do I have something on my face?”

“Hyung,” Guanlin finally spoke, “You have the most beautiful smile.”

“I-I do?” _Crap, his symptoms were back_.

“You're just...” Guanlin and Jihoon's eyes stared into the other’s, this time with a more excited and bubbly flair. “You're beautiful, you know that?”

“I-I am?”

Guanlin closed his eyes and let out a big breath, puffing his cheeks and letting the air go. “I want to tell you something, hyung. I don’t... I don't think I can hold it in, what I want to say.”

“W-what it-t is i-it?” Jihoon’s heart was racing faster than a plane, a thought, the speed of light.

Guanlin chuckled and grasped Jihoon’s shaking hand, “I like you, hyung, I like you a lot.” He gazed at Jihoon in a way that spun Jihoon's core, every single second was a slip into insanity.

Guanlin leaned in, and the small gap between them closed in further and further. Jihoon could barely think as his senses lit up crazily, every single nerve exploding like fireworks. Their lips touched and all Jihoon could think about was how amazing it felt, unable to think as his head exploded at a single touch. Jihoon felt Guanlin smile into the kiss as they reached out to hold each other, desperate for warmth.

“I like you too,” Jihoon whispered as they broke for breath, “Fuck, you have no idea how head over heels I am for you.”

Guanlin tightened his grip on Jihoon and broke out into the most gorgeous laugh, “I’m gonna kiss you again.”

It was three in the morning, they had stinky morning breath and their hairs were a static mess, but Jihoon thought it was the best fucking kiss he had ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> iii hope you enjoyed it! it was so much fun writing this piece. pls kudos comment and if you haven't, read my other fic if you want. i'll (hopefully) see you guys soon for that minhyun chapter.
> 
> ps- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SPECIAL SPARROW WOOJIN!!! OUR LIL PINK SAUSAGE IS GROWING UP *actual teARS* MAY EVERYONE HAVE A VERY WOOJIN DAY  
> pps- props to anyone who got my ‘the office (US)’ reference ;)  
> ppps- gunhee and sewoon aren't in oh little girl because their characters are adults and it's a high school competition (and because sewoon is already in my other story)


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